This post was originally sent via email for our Summer Knit Along.
At this point in the Game Day KAL, everyone is likely to be at points that look dramatically different as we get towards the end of working on the sweater bodies. Once you divide at the armholes, some parts will feel like they zip along quickly, while others may take longer than you expect! Wherever you’re at, to stay on track and have your cardigan finished by the end of August, aim to finish your sweater body by the end of July, leaving you all of August for the sleeves and button bands.
After you finish your fronts and back, a 3-needle bind off is worked to join the shoulder seamlessly. With the body completed, stitches are picked up and knit from it to add sleeves, neckband, and button bands seamlessly. The pattern gives the instructions for the sleeves first, but because the bands and the sleeves are knit from separate parts of the body, you can choose which to do first! You will need to knit the neckband before the button bands because the button bands extend onto the neckband, but these can be done before the sleeves. Many knitters prefer to work the bands before the sleeves on seamless cardigans so that they don’t have so much extra fabric in their lap while knitting these quick little sections.
Resources for Shoulders & Next Steps
More Game Day Knit Along
Use the hashtag #KPGameDayKAL to see more posts on social media, and check out Knit Picks Podcast episodes from June 1st 2022-September 5th 2022, to hear about our hosts Lee and Stacey’s own Game Day cardigans in progress.
